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3 juillet 2017

Harmen van Steenwyck, Still life of a sculptural bust, a skull, an oil lamp and other items on a stone ledge

Harmen van Steenwyck (Delft 1612-circa 1656), Still life of a sculptural bust, a skull, an oil lamp and other items on a stone ledge

Lot 54. Harmen van Steenwyck (Delft 1612-circa 1656), Still life of a sculptural bust, a skull, an oil lamp and other items on a stone ledge, signed with initials 'HS' (on the book, lower right, in ligature), oil on panel, 60.8 x 81.8cm (23 15/16 x 32 3/16in). Estimate £30,000 - 50,000 (€34,000 - 57,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Provenance: Private Collection, Ireland

Note: This work shares many elements with Steenwyck's Still life: An allegory of the vanities of human life in the collection of the National Gallery, London (NG1256), most notably the unusual oil lamp and the Japanese inlaid sword. Both paintings demonstrate the artist's liking for diagonal compositions lit by a strong beam of light, and the fact that this light is directed onto the prominently-placed skull leaves little doubt that on one level these paintings were vanitas pieces, intended to remind the viewer of the fleeting nature of earthly pleasures and of life itself. The guttering oil lamp, the youths portrayed in the portrait and sculpture and the musical instruments all point to this common theme, and suggest that Steenwyck was aware of the vanitas paintings emanating from his contemporaries of the Leiden school. However, an alternative interpretation could suggest that the exotic grouping of shells, finely-crafted weapons from Asia, works of art, books and naturalia are the prized items of a collector's cabinet, encouraging us to spend what time is allotted to us on earth in the uplifting pursuit of culture.

Harmen van Steenwyck (Delft 1612-circa 1656), Still Life An Allegory of the Vanities of Human Life, about 1640

Harmen van Steenwyck (Delft 1612-circa 1656), Still Life: An Allegory of the Vanities of Human Lifeabout 1640. Oil on oak, 39.2 x 50.7 cm. Presented by Lord Savile, 1888 (NG1256) © 2017 The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN

Bonhams. OLD MASTER PAINTINGS, 5 Jul 2017, 14:00 BST, LONDON, NEW BOND STREET

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